Instagram for Business: Analytics and Scheduling

The photo-focused social platform continues to grow every day. More than half of the world’s top 100 brands are already making waves on Instagram. The network is over 200 million strong, presenting an opportunity for businesses to gain visibility and engage with a fresh community.

It’s an excellent platform for showing off your products, promoting your culture, and showcasing your customers and service – especially for those targeting an audience of users under the age of 35.

While Instagram still requires some updates in order to fully maximize the potential for brands – such as adding the ability to share links in individual posts to drive web traffic – there are also some valuable tools businesses can use to be more efficient on the popular network. This includes the ability to schedule posts and measure analytics. Let’s take a closer look at these offerings.

Instagram Analytics

Now, thanks to Union Metrics – the social analytics company behind the Twitter analytics service TweetReach – brands can discover a deeper understanding of their fans and prospective customers through Instagram.

The tool lets brands pinpoint their key brand advocates within Instagram through “detailed participant reporting.” It also allows businesses to build timelines illustrating user comments and likes, as well as a heat map displaying when these interactions happen and a detailed breakdown of how often each fan engages. The objective is to help brands make personal connections with their audience.

“There is no such thing as too much understanding of your audience,” says Hayes Davis, CEO of Union Metrics.

There are a number of other providers who offer similar products, including Curalate, Simply Measured, Nitgrogram and Statigram.

Instagram Posting and Scheduling

Just like it’s social competitors, there are a number of tactics to consider when using Instagram for business. You should plan out your goals for using the platform before diving in.

While most users tend to take photos and upload them instantly to Instagram, brands need to be more tactical in their sharing approach. With the help of the posting and scheduling tool Postso, you can be more selective with when you post.

When you upload a photo to Postso, you can choose to post immediately or schedule a time in the future. This means you can upload content when it is convenient to you, but publish it when it is most opportune to connect with your audience (an insight you may have gained from using the Union Metrics analytics tool).

More Tips for Optimizing Your Instagram Business Profile

Add your company logo as your profile picture (it’s best to use the same photo you use on other social channels to keep your brand image consistent).

Include your website URL in your profile bio (this is the only place to create a live, clickable link within the app).

Include a short, impactful description in your Instagram bio (consider including a call-to-action here as well).

Invite your fans to comment on posts by including questions or calls for engagement.

Reply to user comments on photos and take advantage of opportunities to engage with fans.

Use hashtags in posts that are relevant to the audience you are looking to target.

Take advantage of tools like Postso for scheduling posts.

Track your efforts with analytics tools like Union Metrics.

Do you have any tips to add? How do you increase efficiency on Instagram and take advantage of the opportunity to engage with fans?